Trump Administration: The First 100 Days

President Donald Trump has promised to move quickly to implement his agenda for change in the US. Many of the policies and pledges made by Trump and his cabinet nominees pose profound threats to the rights of people both within the US and abroad. In the coming critical weeks, Human Rights Watch experts will provide rolling coverage and analysis of the rights implications as the new government’s agenda unfolds.

Trump First 100 Days

April 26, 20175:45 AM EST

US Congress: Reject Trump Anti-Immigrant Funding

The United States Congress should reject President Donald Trump’s Fiscal Year 2017 supplemental funding request for a dramatic expansion of immigration detention and enforcement, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to congressional leaders. See full release here.

Does Anyone Still Believe Marijuana Is a Gateway Drug?

United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly certainly does. He declared in a speech today that marijuana is a “dangerous gateway drug,” and that this makes marijuana offenses fair game for “targeted operations against illegal aliens.” But most Americans no longer believe that marijuana is dangerous. Instead, data shows that the public really believes people arrested for marijuana rarely go on to commit violent crimes. Nevertheless, when a marijuana offense is used as a reason to brand an immigrant as the kind of “criminal” who should be removed from the country as a threat to public safety, the consequences are devastating, writes HRW's Grace Meng.

Mom of Four US Citizens Scheduled for Deportation

Maribel Trujillo Diaz has four young US citizen children, aged 14, 12, 10, and 3. She’s the main breadwinner for her household and has lived in the United States for 15 years. She is undocumented, but she has no criminal convictions. Yet she has been deported back to Mexico. Trujillo’s deportation punishes her US citizen family, now dealing with a devastating separation, writes HRW's Clara Long.

On Immigrant Policies, Unintended Consequences

In a recent speech announcing new “get tough on immigrants” policies, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said it was necessary to take a “stand” against “transnational gangs like MS-13 and international cartels.” But he would do well to take a hard look at the unintended consequences of the United States’ own past hardline policies, writes HRW's John Raphling.

Tillerson Freezes Out Russia’s Rights Groups

Rex Tillerson’s made his first visit to Russia as secretary of state this week and while he met with President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and other top officials, he didn’t meet with any of Russia’s civil society leaders. This is a break from past practice for US - and a dangerous precedent, writes HRW's Rachel Denber. \

Terrified to Lose Their Healthcare

After deciding not to push forward with an unpopular and flawed health care bill in March, the US House is considering a new version of the bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Yet many women in the US rely on the ACA and on Planned Parenthood, which would be blocked from receiving Medicaid reimbursements—essentially defunding it-- under current drafts of the bill. Here are a few of their stories, by Amy Braunschweiger.

New Threats to Women’s Health

Congressional efforts to draft a new version of a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act may be just as threatening to women across the United States as the previous Republican-sponsored bill, says HRW.

Trump’s United Nation’s Cuts Target Women in Crisis

Women’s rights advocates around the world have been concerned for months that the Trump administration would cut American funds for basic health services that the girls and women who need help the most rely on. They have been proven right, writes HRW's Skye Wheeler.

HRW Response To US Strikes In Syria

Trump used strong words last night to describe the horrors the Assad government has inflicted on children and families in Syria for years. But if he's genuinely concerned about Syria's thousands of victims, there's a very simple step he can take to help them: take back the Executive Order that would halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the US

Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno, Co-Director of the US Program at Human Rights Watch.

If Trump is so concerned by the horrific situation in Syria he should rescind the exec order that would halt US refugee resettlement.

US Senators Press Supreme Court Nominee on Torture

US Senator Dianne Feinstein and others have expressed important reservations over Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch’s record and views on torture during the confirmation process, writes HRW's Laura Pitter.

US Ends Funding for Global Women’s Health Agency

The US State Department’s move on April 3, 2017, to block funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) endangers key health and protection services for some of the world’s most marginalized women and girls. “The UN Population Fund provides leadership in working against restrictive environments around the world for women’s rights, from addressing preventable maternal deaths to fighting against female genital mutilation and child marriage,” said Amanda Klasing, senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Doing What's Right on Egypt is Also Smart Strategy

Weeks after overthrowing Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, in July 2013, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's security forces stormed pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo, killing at least 817 people in one day, the worst peacetime massacre of Egypt's modern history. Since then, the right to protest has all but vanished in Egypt, police routinely suppress anti-government demonstrations with violence, and authorities have imprisoned tens of thousands of political opponents of Sisi's government, often in appalling conditions. President Trump does not pretend to be a champion of human rights, and he has called Sisi a "fantastic guy." But as the two leaders meet for the first time, HRW's Tom Porteous describes how Trump can do something that is both good for US interests and good for human rights.

US Congress Finds New Route to Attack Planned Parenthood

This week the Senate pushed forward a bill that would allow states to withhold Title X family planning funds from Planned Parenthood. Some of the most vulnerable women and families in the US may be hurt by Congress’s callous approach to women’s health, writes HRW's Amanda Klasing.

Democratic Debate Should Trump Presidential Ego

President Donald Trump’s latest Twitter rant about the New YorkTimes’ coverage of his presidency saw him muse that it might be time to “change libel laws.” The implicit threat here may well be an empty one. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore it, writes HRW's Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno.

What the Trump Administration Needs to Tell the Kremlin

News of Russia has dominated the Washington press for weeks. Whether, when, and to what extent President Trump and his advisors had contacts with Russian officials prior to his electoral win has provided endless fodder for pundits and politicians alike. But here are other important issues - and messages the new administration should be sending Putin, write HRW's Andrea Prasow and Alexandra Schmitt.

Providing a Safe Haven Inside Syria Would Be Complicated, Costly and Probably Dangerous

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said this week the United States "will work to establish interim zones of stability [in Syria], through ceasefires, to allow refugees to return home." However, nice sounding words and half-measures could have disastrous consequence for civilians in Syria if the US government is not prepared to do what it would take to make such a zone truly safe, writes Bill Frelick.

My take on Tillerson’s safe zone: a pretext 4 containing refugees that results not in stability but rather in danger https://t.co/1ozWntn5ZH

GOP's ObamaCare replacement Would Make Opioid Crisis Worse

Faced with alarming rates of drug use and overdose deaths, President Trump has vowed to take decisive action to address the crisis. But his proposals would have potentially devastating consequences for communities in rural counties that form the backbone of his support, writes HRW's Meghan McLemore.

US Won’t Testify Before Key Regional Body

The United States said today it will not appear before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a key regional human rights body. The US State Department cited ongoing domestic litigation as its reason for declining to appear before the commission in its reviews of the Trump administration’s attempt to ban immigration from six predominantly Muslim countries, its immigration enforcement and detention policies, and its approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

"Citing domestic litigation is nothing more than a flimsy and legally unfounded excuse for refusing to appear before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. There have been ongoing cases in US courts during previous hearings that the US government has attended. The Trump Administration’s decision not to show up to the hearings is a break with nearly 60 years of US support for this regional human rights institution.

The Inter-American Commission hears cases of victims of abuse who have not been able to get justice in their own countries. In pulling out of this hearing, the United States is offering a negative example for the rest of the countries in the Americas, who show up and engage in the Inter-American system. The US should immediately reconsider this decision and reaffirm its support for the Inter-American Commission."

Trump Admin doesn't show up to human rights hearings to defend its policies on immigration, Dakota Access Pipeline. https://t.co/JhlGITlGoq

How Trump’s Budget Would Hurt Kids – and US Workers

President Trump’s proposed budget includes dramatic cuts to many programs, not to mention eliminating entire agencies. Among his proposals is a complete gutting of the Labor Department’s programs to eliminate child and forced labor worldwide. Eliminating these programs would not only hurt millions of children, but also US workers, writes HRW's Jo Becker.

Trump’s Syrian “Safe Area” is Just Another Wall

Just as the Berlin Wall was the iconic symbol of the Cold War era, so the emblematic symbol of President Donald Trump’s administration, if he has his way, could well be the Mexican wall. It represents a simplistic, concrete solution to a complex human problem, but also, like the Berlin Wall, a fitting symbol for the larger Trump doctrine, writes HRW's Bill Frelick.

Trump’s Budget Would Cut Crucial Emergency Aid

President Trump’s 2018 budget request not only proposes drastic reductions to the State Department and USAID, including funding to the United Nations and its affiliated agencies. It also proposes to entirely eliminate the State Department’s Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) account, which would deny his government a critical tool for averting disasters around the world, writes HRW's Bill Frelick.

I argue that Trump's budget ties his own hands 2 keep refugee emergencies from becoming more destabilizing & costly. https://t.co/TE6KZSP1tW

A Return to the Failed ‘War on Drugs’ in the US?

In a speech before law enforcement leaders Wednesday, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions clearly articulated his prohibitionist views on personal drug use. While briefly mentioning the importance of treatment and prevention programs, Sessions made clear that he plans to significantly ramp up federal enforcement of drug laws, and that he opposes the experiments that many states have started with legalization and regulation of marijuana. Quantitative Analyst Brian Root discusses how this approach has done little to reduce problematic drug use in the US and instead has done tremendous harm.

Trump’s Budget Proposal Harms Most Vulnerable

On March 16, United States President Donald Trump released his initial budget proposal to Congress.

Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno, co-director of the US program at Human Rights Watch, reacts:

“Trump’s budget proposal envisions a country that is cruel to its most vulnerable members, cutting off much-needed care and support to its ill, older people, children, and poor. Instead of investing in the health, education, and the well-being of people, it invests in the harshest of tools – deportation, incarceration, and force – as the primary solutions to problems, while offering little to no evidence for doing so. It’s a recipe for waste, abuse, and increased suffering.”

March 16, 201712:09 PM EST

US Sends Group Rejecting Rights to UN Women’s Commission

In recent years, the United States has played a significant role protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, both domestically and internationally. And yet, the US has included the Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam), a group that supports the criminalization of homosexuality, in the US delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Strange bedfellows? Apparently not.

Trump Strong-Arms Rights Body

The United States government’s reported plan to withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council if specific demands are not met shows a lack of commitment to advancing human rights around the world. “Threatening to walk out of the Human Rights Council rather than working to make it more effective does nothing to improve the council’s performance,” said Sarah Margon, Washington director at Human Rights Watch. “Rather, it would signal that the Trump administration is not really interested in improving the human rights of vulnerable people around the globe.”

What Merkel Should Say to Trump

In her congratulatory note to President Donald Trump after his electoral win, German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered her close cooperation on the basis of the values that bind Germany and America: “democracy, freedom, the respect for the law and the dignity of human beings, independent of their origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political position.” Ahead of their forthcoming meeting in Washington, DC, HRW's Wenzel Michalski discusses why she should hold true to this bold statement.

Why Rex Tillerson Must Bring Up Human Rights on His First Asia Trip

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson travels this week to South Korea, Japan, and China and it's not exactly clear what the overarching goals of his trip are. After he was criticized during his confirmation hearings for not being vocal enough about other rights-abusing governments, Tillerson reportedly reassured members of Congress that he would embrace past U.S. foreign policy of speaking out about human rights abuses. Will he hold to that?, asks HRW's John Sifton.

"This is, after all, part of his job as secretary of state... and he certainly doesn’t have anything to lose. https://t.co/J2cbyUEiKk

Trump’s Revised Travel Ban Is Still Mired In Prejudice

Though cleansed of overt references to Muslims—while continuing to use code words like “honor killings”—the Trump's revised travel ban order is still contaminated by his campaign rhetoric and promises, writes HRW's Bill Frelick.

US: ‘Gag Rule’ - Question and Answer

The expanded “Mexico City Policy” or “Global Gag Rule” issued by United States President Donald Trump is a profound setback to hard-fought gains for women and girls’ health in countries around the world, Human Rights Watch said today, on International Women’s Day.

Human Rights Watch has prepared a question-and-answer document and short video to explain how the policy works and why it is likely to have devastating consequences, including unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths.

Video: Trump's New Gag Rule Puts Women's Lives at Risk

On his first full day in office, US President Donald Trump issued an expanded “Global Gag Rule,” or “Mexico City Policy,” which strips foreign nongovernmental organizations of all US health funding if they use funds from any source to offer information about abortions, provide abortions, or advocate liberalizing abortion laws. US law already prohibits using US funds for abortion in foreign family planning assistance.

On his first full day in office, US President Donald Trump issued an expanded “Global Gag Rule,” or “Mexico City Policy,” which strips foreign nongovernmental organizations of all US health funding if they use funds from any source to offer information about abortions, provide abortions, or advocate liberalizing abortion laws.

March 8, 201712:24 AM EST

Bold Moves Needed for Reproductive Health and Rights

The vastly expanded Global Gag Rule, or Mexico City Policy, announced by Donald Trump and supported by the Republican party, restricts organizations accepting US government funds from using even non-US money to provide abortions or information about abortions, refer to safe abortion services, or advocate for liberalization of abortion laws, writes HRW's Hillary Margolis.

A US Plan to Tear More Families Apart

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is considering detaining separately children and parents who cross the US border without authorization. The idea that the government would cause harm to children to dissuade other families from crossing the border is cynical in the extreme, writes HRW's Clara Long.

US: New Refugee Order Renews Old Harms

United States President Donald Trump’s new executive order significantly curtailing the US refugee program would inflict similar harms on refugees and Americans as the previous order, Human Rights Watch said today.

Governments Step Up for Reproductive Rights

Governments should pledge political and financial support for sexual and reproductive health to counter the United States’ “Global Gag Rule." “Governments, nongovernmental groups, and the private sector should stand with women and girls to protect their right to health,” writes Nisha Varia, women’s rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

March 5, 201711:57 AM EST

Is Trump Protecting Police From Harm Or Oversight?

On its face, President Donald Trump’s February 9 executive order on preventing violence against law enforcement officers seeks to achieve a worthy goal. No one objects to taking appropriate steps to support and protect police officers. But the vague language of the order and related policy statements from the Trump administration feel ominous because of what the president hasn’t said—that the federal government also has an important role to play in helping to ensure that police departments are accountable, writes HRW's John Raphling.

Where is the Revised Order Banning Muslims?

Seven days after his inauguration, US President Donald Trump signed the now infamous executive order that would ban all nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries. After a court stayed the order, Trump vowed to fight back in the courts, but it is now March and the administration has taken no further court action, and has delayed signing a revised order at least three times. What happened to urgently stopping foreign terrorists from pouring into the country?: The courts saw through the hype, writes HRW's Bill Frelick.

US: Immigration Memos Will Wreak Havoc on Rights

The Trump administration’s new immigration enforcement memorandums outline striking and sweeping changes to immigration policy that will have a dire impact on the rights of immigrants and their families and hurt the communities they live in, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a “question and answer” analysis

Tillerson Sends Wrong Message Over Rights Report

The State Department is set to release its annual report today on human rights around the world. For the first time in many years the report will not be launched by the Secretary of State, but will simply be posted and given to journalists.

Sarah Margon, Washington Director at Human Rights Watch, reacts:

"Trump’s anti-Muslim refugee policy and hinted cuts to foreign aid have heightened concerns that the US won’t be a vocal player on human rights issues abroad. Secretary Tillerson's absence from the State Department's annual human rights report release reinforces the message to governments, rights activists and at-risk minorities that the State Department might also be silent on repression, abuse, and exploitation."

February 28, 20175:28 PM EST

The Kansas Killing, Hate and the President's Obligation

While in high school, HRW's Akshaya Kumar, an immigrant from India, gave up her Indian citizenship to hold a U.S. passport with pride. The first immigrant Indian woman to seek the same, Kanta Chandra Gupta, applied for citizenship in 1910 and was denied that right until almost 60 years later. The Kansas shooting was a dark warning that this history still lives within us, Kumar writes.

Trump Budget Proposals Undermine Support for Human Rights

The world is a lot more complicated than can be seen from a Predator drone or an F-35. A budget that slashes State Department and USAID funding, while further expanding the Pentagon, shows Trump is intent on undermining US government agencies that address pressing human rights issues, most of which are not dealt with by military force.

There are also indications that the Trump budget seeks to cut State Department programs, including those that fund independent media, civil society groups, and the rule of law. Doing so would reverse decades of bipartisan consensus that the United States benefits from a world where executive authority is constrained by these essential checks on democracy.

"A decision to withdraw would be a misguided and shortsighted step that could significantly set back UN efforts to protect human rights around the world. Despite its flaws, the council has taken groundbreaking measures, often with strong US support. The US played a crucial role in pushing the council to establish commissions of inquiry that uncovered grave crimes in North Korea and Syria. Withdrawing would do nothing to advance US interests but would merely dampen US influence in the international arena. It would also undermine US allies on the council and give serial rights abusers like China and Saudi Arabia a green light to use their membership to obstruct and prevent the UN’s principal human rights body from exposing atrocities by the world’s worst violators."

Trump’s Crusade against Critics

It’s now clear that one of Donald Trump’s top priorities as president is to discredit, harass, and intimidate his critics, or anyone who exposes how his administration is working, writes HRW's Maria McFarland Sanchez-Moreno.

It's now clear, one of Trump's top priorities is intimidating, smearing, harassing critics, press--democracy loses https://t.co/ridNf7qs3e

A Step Back in Countering Violent Extremism

Donald Trump apparently wants to change the exisiting Countering Violent Extremism program – in theory designed to counter all violent ideologies – into a program that focuses solely on Islamist extremism, writes HRW's Nadim Houry.

The Countering Violent Extremism program is already fraught with difficulty, rebranding as Countering Islamic Extremism would be disastrous https://t.co/h2ZSl0xS0z

Fighting for the Affordable Care Act at a Louisiana Town Hall

Louisiana’s Republican Senator Bill Cassidy scheduled his town hall during pre-Mardi Gras parades, in a location outside of New Orleans, with seating limited to 200 people. But that didn’t stop about a thousand of his constituents from attending, many standing in the parking lot. Top of mind? The fate of Obamacare, writes HRW's Megan McLemore.

Trump Rolls Back Protections for Transgender Students

The Trump administration is putting transgender children in harm’s way by withdrawing guidance issued by the Obama administration that instructs schools in the United States to respect the gender identity of students, writes HRW's Ryan Thoreson.

Expanding US Fast-Track Deportations a Disastrous Idea

A US Department of Homeland Security memo implementing one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration exponentially expands the number of people subject to fast-track deportation, or expedited removal. It is likely to speed up the pace of removals of immigrants from all over the US and increase the opportunities for immigration agent misconduct and abuse, writes HRW's Clara Long.

Expedited US Deportations an Affront to Due Process

Grace Meng, senior US researcher at Human Rights Watch, on the Trump administration’s possible expansion of expedited removal procedures under new deportation rules:

“The deportation and expedited removal plans outlined in two memos under consideration by the Trump administration would allow immigration enforcement agents to shove due process requirements aside,” said Grace Meng, senior US researcher. We’ve investigated the use of expedited removal for years and found that these procedures harm the rights of long-term residents, many of whom have US-citizen family members, as well as of asylum seekers, including children, who are fleeing persecution and violence abroad.”

Leaks, Tweets, and Real Threats to Democracy

In at least one respect, Donald Trump is following in Barack Obama’s footsteps: his hyper-aggressive response to government leaks of information. But dealing with the fallout from public disclosures of information that doesn’t truly compromise national security is just part of the messy business of governing in a democracy. Trump should get used to it, writes HRW's Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno.

Recipients of DACA Unsure of Their Futures

During his campaign, Donald Trump promised to cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) but more recently, he stated that DACA participants shouldn’t be “very worried.” At this point, the future for DACA recipients remains uncertain, writes HRW's Rebecca Chowdhury.

The U.S. Does Not Shortchange Christian Refugees

The crux of the constitutional challenge to President Trump’s executive order suspending the U.S. refugee program and barring entry to nationals of seven predominantly Muslim countries is whether he intended to establish a preference for Christians and against Muslims in U.S. immigration and refugee policies, writes HRW's Bill Frelick.

I break down Trump quote saying US resettlement program is biased against Christian refugees--it is a baseless claim https://t.co/KiNq5aXzDt

Trump Should Press Netanyahu on Settlements

The meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today and the Senate hearing on the nomination of David Friedman to serve as US ambassador to Israel tomorrow could shape the contours of US policy in the coming years, writes HRW's Omar Shakir.

Trump’s Labor Nominee’s Troubling Record

On Thursday, Andrew Puzder will appear for his confirmation hearing for Secretary of Labor. Puzder’s track record as CEO overseeing Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s restaurants is almost completely at odds with the mission of the agency he has been nominated to run, writes HRW's Jo Becker.

Trudeau Should Raise Targeting of Muslims in Trump Meeting

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with US President Donald Trump with trade and job creation the expected focus. But given the chaos and uncertainties of Trump’s first weeks in office, Trudeau should also raise a fundamental issue he is well placed to speak to – the risk of alienating millions of peaceful and law-abiding Muslims globally by conflating Islam with violent extremism, writes HRW's Farida Deif.

This week, US immigration authorities in Phoenix, Arizona, arrested Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, an undocumented mother of two US citizen children, and deported her. Garcia de Rayos was not in hiding. In fact, she walked into the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office to check in, as she had every year for the past eight years. So what changed? The Trump administration’s executive order on immigration enforcement, writes HRW's Grace Meng.

Japan’s Abe Should Press Trump on Foreign Aid

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lands in Washington, DC, today for an Oval Office meeting with US President Donald Trump. Abe is uniquely placed to weigh in with the new administartion on key issues, writes HRW's John Sifton.

Court Ruling an "Important Declaration of Judicial Independence"

We welcome the Ninth Circuit’s decision not to reinstate the Trump administration’s reprehensible ban on travel by people from seven mainly Muslim countries. It has already caused great hardship to countless people with no connection to terrorism. Although this is not the final decision, the Ninth Circuit’s clear statement that it has the power to review executive actions with regard to national security is an important declaration of judicial independence, which is crucial for checking harmful overreach by the president.

Trump Criminal Justice Order a “Distortion of Reality”

The executive orders President Trump signed today on criminal justice are premised on a distortion of reality that will ultimately be counterproductive. Smart public safety policies should be based on the realities that communities, law enforcement, and victims face, so that resources are used wisely. Far from soaring, overall crime rates have decreased steadily in recent decades, though homicide rates in several major cities have recently increased and require thoughtful attention. Police deaths have also dropped from a high of 181 five years ago to 140 in 2016, even as killings by police have increased, numbering over a thousand annually. Immigrants—both documented and undocumented—are actually less likely to commit crimes than native-born US citizens. Meanwhile, the tenor of these orders seems to portend a disastrous return to failed “tough on crime” policies of the past, such as increased mandatory minimum sentences, and a ramping up of the global “war on drugs,” which has in fact increased the profits of organized crime, and carried enormous human and financial costs.

A “Dangerous Permanent Trend” in Crime Does Not Exist

After being sworn in today as US Attorney General, Jeff Sessions briefly identified areas he would focus on as the leader of the Justice Department. Sessions stated that crime is a “dangerous permanent trend that places the safety of the American people at risk”. All measures of crime, including known offenses reported to the FBI by law enforcement agencies and the National Crime Victimization Survey, indicate just the opposite. Though there was a small increase in reported violent crimes between 2014 and 2015, the overall trend is one of a safer, less violent country. There is no “dangerous permanent trend” in violent or non-violent crime.

Top Tweets of the Week: Special Trump Edition

In this week’s most shared tweets: The weekend began with widespread protests in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending travellers to the US from some parts of the world. The fallout of the refugee ban reveberated throughout the week on social.

CIA Leaders Should Denounce Use of Torture

The hiring of Gina Haspel as deputy CIA director has raised eyebrows, thanks to her resume at the agency that reportedly includes a stint running a CIA “black site” in Thailand as part of a US program that used torture after the 9/11 attacks, writes HRW's Laura Pitter.

CIA leaders should denounce use of torture. Deputy CIA pick has troubling history with "enhanced interrogation" https://t.co/xQVBpDXE9m

Why Can't Australia Offer Refugees a Home?

It's no surprise that US President Donald Trump would suggest resurrecting the refugee deal the Australian government struck with the Obama administration in November. It may indeed go ahead—although the president criticised it, his press secretary said Trump would respect the arrangement. But that's by no means certain, and the only real surprise here would be if Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia hadn't foreseen the risk that it might fall apart, writes HRW's Michael Bochenek in the IB Times.

Another day, another dozen difficult-to-digest pieces of news from the Trump White House... Let's begin with his senior advisor, Kellyanne Conway: in the absence of evidence that refugees pose a threat to the United States, she invented a "massacre" and blamed it on refugees to try to justify the Administration's Muslim Ban. This and more in today's Daily Brief.

Trump Dangerously Conflates Islam With Violent Extremism

Amid the uproar over President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban, along comes yet another proposal in the same discriminatory spirit: to revamp a United States government program created to counter all violent ideologies so that it would focus solely on Islamist extremism, writes HRW's Letta Tayler.

Muslim women listen to remarks during a news conference held by House Democrats to introduce legislation "to ensure that no one is denied entry into the United States because of their religion" at the U.S. Capitol in Washington February 2, 2017.

Work or Breastfeed? Don’t Force US Women to Choose

Mr. Trump and Congress: what is your plan for health care if you eviscerate the ACA? And how will breastfeeding moms feed their babies if they can’t afford to buy a pump? Mothers have both the right to work and the right to breastfeed. Don’t make us choose one over the other, writes HRW's Andrea Prasow.

When I went to the Senate with my breast pump yesterday...Work or Breastfeed? Don’t Force US Women to Choose https://t.co/RS0YFQ28Au

The Border Wall Is a Dangerous Waste

In his first week as president, Donald Trump rushed to adopt policies that will deeply harm migrants, particularly asylum seekers. They will also fail to make the United States any safer, writes HRW's Clara Long in Progressive.org.

Donald Trump's Ban Puts Australia PM in Bind Over Refugees

Harmful. Discriminatory. Counterproductive. Wrong. Lots of words come to mind when thinking about US President Donald Trump's recent executive order to ban nationals from seven Muslim countries from entering the US, suspend the resettlement of refugees for months and Syrian refugees indefinitely, and then slash refugee resettlement to the US by more than half. Yet Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull found no words at all, telling journalists "he would not run a commentary on the domestic policies of other countries." In failing to denounce the executive order, he fails to serve Australia's broader interests in a global order responsive to humanitarian concern, writes HRW's Elaine Pearson in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Americans Brace for the End of the Affordable Care Act

Republicans in Congress spent much of January preparing their attack on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and many people across the United States are alarmed at the prospect, writes HRW's Megan McLemore.

Senator Grassley: Hold Sessions to Same Standard As You Did Yates

Two years ago Chuck Grassley, Republican senator from Iowa, urged Sally Yates, then a nominee to be deputy Attorney General to show "independence" and remember "it's the people...not the president" when it comes to carrying out her duties. Well, she did just that yesterday by instructing her staff not to defend President Donald Trump’s abusive immigration order – a move that was followed by her dismissal.

Mr. Grassley, you must demand the same standard from the next Attorney General that you set for Yates – that the nation’s top law official put the people before the president and let the law and the Constitution guide their actions.

Trump's actions yesterday showed utter contempt for the independence of the Attorney General. As chair of the Judiciary Committee, what are you going to do?

What You Can Do To Stop Sessions Nomination

The Senate will soon vote on President-elect Trump’s nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions for US Attorney General. Sessions has a record of opposing the very same laws and tools the Attorney General is called upon to use in defense of rights. As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, he would pose a grave threat to human rights. Contact your Senator and ask them to oppose the nomination.

HRW comments on UN reaction to Trump's Executive Order

Comment by Philippe Bolopion, HRW's deputy director for global advocacy, on UN reaction to Trump’s Executive Order on refugees and immigration,

“A few days ago, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced ‘a deeply troubling rise in extremism, xenophobia, racism and anti-Muslim hatred,’ noting that ‘irrationality and intolerance are back’ and vowing to be on ‘the front line’ of the battle against hatred. With President Trump’s scare-mongering against refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, Guterres is now facing a major test. At a time when governments, civil society and business leaders are increasingly speaking out, it’s important that the UN’s message not come solely from the UN human rights chief. Secretary-General Guterres should take a clear stand that Trump’s executive order is a blow to refugees, reflects bigotry and will do little to address terrorism."

January 30, 20173:34 PM EST

Chaos, and Show of Force at JFK Airport

At the center of New York's John F. Kennedy Airport's Terminal 4 stands the Central Diner, and its circa 1950s lunch counter dovetailed with the Mad Men aesthetic of the New York State Troopers present. Inside, a lone Reuters photojournalist sat eating eggs and grits, amid a few ragged travelers. Outside the diner, however, a more modern scene: An army of more than 40 immigration attorneys, interpreters, and volunteers were working on laptops and smartphones, preparing court filings challenging the detention of non-citizens detained inside the terminal’s pre-entry area. This is the scene as reactions to President Donald Trump’s abusive new immigration Executive Order continue.

My Heartwarming Time With a Syrian Refugee Family

The Abdullah family — a pseudonym — are refugees from Syria who arrived in the U.S. exactly one week before President Trump signed an executive order banning people like them, who'd escaped an unbearably brutal war, from starting new lives here. HRW's Jane Buchanan describes her meeting with the Abdullahs.

What the Trump Refugee Ban Means for an ISIS Survivor

HRW's Sarah Margon spent a damp, cold day this weekend at Khazir camp, about an hour outside of Erbil, which houses thousands of Iraqi civilians who have fled Islamic State control. There to learn more about the detention of many of these young men by Kurdish authorities, the immediate impact of President Donald Trump’s new executive order "hit me like a kick in the gut," she writes.

What the Trump refugee ban means for an ISIS survivor in Iraq - my short piece from Khazir camp https://t.co/2nB45BU2bO

Trump Ban Creates Chaos at Airports; Judge Issues Stay

President Donald Trump's execuitive order suspending the US refugee program for at least 120 days and banning entry of nationals from seven countries created chaos at airports, prompting protests. Late in the day, a New York judge issued a temporary stay preventing the deportation of some travellers already in the country, Reuters reports.

BREAKING: Federal judge grants emergency stay to temporarily allow people who landed in U.S. with valid visa to remain

Will Immigrants Personal Data Be Used To Help Deport Them?

A little-noticed provision in one of President Trump’s executive orders this weekstripped federal privacy protections from many immigrants, raising fears among advocacy groups that information people willingly submitted to the federal government during the Obama administration could now be used to help deport them, writes the Washington Post. “The U.S. shouldn’t do a bait-and-switch with sensitive personal data. We have to be able to trust that the government will use and share that data only in the way it said it would," ” says Sarah St.Vincent of Human Rights Watch.

Trump’s Refugee Scare-Mongering Has No Basis in Reality

In suspending the U.S. refugee resettlement program, President Donald Trump is turning his back on the very people who are most in need. Mr. Trump’s scare-mongering on refugees is out of all proportion to reality, writes Bill Frelick in the Globe and Mail.

US: Trump Delivers Blow to Refugees

United States President Donald Trump announced several policies that will cause tremendous harm to refugees and do little to address terrorism and other national security threats, Human Rights Watch said today.

"Trump Refugee Order "likely to hurt the people most in need"

President Donald Trump today signed an executive order that he claimed would clamp down on refugee admissions to the US. While the text has not been released yet, media reports suggest it will suspend the refugee program for 120 days and bar Syrian refugees indefinitely. The following quote can be attributed to

"Trump’s latest executive order is likely to hurt the people most in need: those fleeing violence and terrorism, and on Holocaust Remembrance Day, no less. Its decision to drastically curtail the refugee program would abandon tens of thousands to the risk of persecution or worse and cede American leadership on a vitally important issue."

Trump, Iraqi Oil and International Law

In an interview with ABC this week President Donald Trump repeated his position the US “should have taken the oil” from Iraq during the occupation of the country following the 2003 US-led invasion. But Trump’s position would violate US law and military regulations that go back to the American Civil War and longstanding US international legal obligations. HRW's Sarah Saadoun explains.

No Mr Trump, you can't "take" Iraq's oil. But you can thank Abraham Lincoln for law that stops you. https://t.co/L4S1MLtGzw

HRW's Fred Abrahams: Trump & Torture

In an ABC News interview this week President Trump insisted that torture “works,” claiming his advisors told him so. That comes amid reports that Trump is considering executive orders that include reviewing whether to resume the once-secret “black site” detention program and revise the Army Field Manual to determine whether certain “enhanced interrogation techniques” can be used. HRW's Fred Abrahams discusses the torture issue in an interview Brent Goff of DW News.

Trump and Putin will talk by phone this weekend about “common ground” for Russia and the US. Sadly, jettisoning women’s rights seems to be part of Trump’s and Putin’s common ground. Today, Russia’s State Duma voted to decriminalize some forms of domestic violence. That’s right: decriminalize. The US, through Trump’s executive actions this week, is putting women’s lives at risk around the world. Trump reinstated and expanded the global gag rule, a pernicious and cruel policy that will limit women’s access to lifesaving reproductive health services, including abortion. And an executive order to gut US funding for international agencies, including those working to prevent maternal mortality, is in the works. Common ground, indeed.

Showing Up Is Not Enough, Theresa May

British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet with President Trump at the White House tomorrow. She has said being a female leader is the “biggest statement” she can make to the president about women’s rights when they meet. HRW's Amanda Klasing begs to differ.

Trump’s Immigration Actions to Harm Millions

The two executive actions, on immigration and border policy, that United States President Donald Trump signed today will severely harm millions of immigrants and US citizens, Human Rights Watch said. Read HRW's full analysis here.

A young boy holds US flags as immigrants and community leaders rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to mark the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration in Washington on November 20, 2015.

No Mr. President, Torture Does Not “Work”

In an ABC News interview tonight President Trump insisted that torture “works,” claiming his advisors told him so. Despite torture being illegal under US and international law, the claim that it works flies in the face of the conclusions of the more than 6,000-page Senate Intelligence Committee report on the CIA torture program, which found, based on extensive evidence, that the program was not an effective means of obtaining accurate information or gaining detainee cooperation. Trump’s defense secretary, James Mattis, reportedly told Trump he had “never found” waterboarding to be useful. And just a few weeks ago, a group of 176 retired generals wrote to Trump to tell him that torture was counterproductive to US national security and that “lawful, rapport-based interrogation techniques are the most effective way to elicit actionable intelligence.”

How many times does lesson have to get learned? Torture is an ineffective way to get useful intelligence, generates false leads and illegal! https://t.co/ouvMmBehFv

Trump Should Not Turn Clock Back on Torture

Media reports indicate US President Donald Trump is considering executive orders that include reviewing whether to resume the once-secret “black site” detention program; revise the Army Field Manual to determine whether certain “enhanced interrogation techniques” can be used to allow coercive methods; and keeping open the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Some reports also made public a draft order directing a policy review that will recommend to the president whether to “reinstate” a program of interrogation of “high-value terrorists” abroad operated by the CIA.

A Tunisian man formerly held in secret United States Central Intelligence Agency custody have described previously unreported methods of torture that shed new light on the earliest days of the CIA program. Lotfi al-Arabi El Gherissi, 52, recounted being severely beaten with batons, threatened with an electric chair, subjected to various forms of water torture, and being chained by his arms to the ceiling of his cell for a long period.

Reaction from Laura Pitter, US national security counsel at Human Rights Watch:

The Trump administration should not even think about bringing back secret prisons or torture techniques, no matter what they call them. The CIA’s use of black sites, enforced disappearance and torture in the last decade was not only illegal but deeply damaging to the reputation and national security of the United States.

Scores of men were subjected to brutal interrogation methods that were not only illegal but also ineffective in gathering useful intelligence, and caused the US to waste resources by pursuing false leads. US law is clear that the Army Field Manual cannot be modified for at least two years, and even then only to ensure it complies with US domestic and international legal obligations. Even if the manual were modified to allow coercive techniques, these would still be illegal under longstanding US and international law. Anyone who engages in torture, as well as those who order or authorize it, also faces criminal liability.

Any order to keep the Guantanamo Bay detention facility open would be a terrible mistake. Guantanamo is a potent symbol of injustice, inhumane detentions, and torture. The military commissions there are fundamentally flawed and have deprived the families of 9/11 victims of seeing justice done. US federal courts have proven very capable of handling these cases effectively and with respect for due process. The draft order cites misleading statistics on the number of those released from Guantanamo who have “returned” to the fight, which additionally conflate the number of those who are confirmed and suspected of having done so. Further, keeping individuals in Guantanamo due to the actions of others amounts to collective punishment and denies the men held there fair process. Trump should be working to close Guantanamo and fully restore the role of federal courts in terrorism cases, not sending more people to be unjustly imprisoned there.

A return to "enhanced interrogations"? Deeply troubling and illegal. Trump shouldn't even be entertaining the notion https://t.co/vwohihEJdC

Visa Ban Would be Discriminatory, Encourage Xenophobia

There are news reports that US President Donald Trump will issue an executive order banning some or all nationals of certain Muslim majority countries from entering the United States.

Reaction from Alison Parker, co-director of the US Program of Human Rights Watch:

The reported executive action to bar entry to nationals from Muslim-majority countries is based on the false presumption that certain predominantly Muslim nationalities are indicators of dangerousness. Policies based on such faulty and discriminatory assumptions are dangerous, and encourage xenophobia.

The reported executive action is also counterproductive. In 2002, President Bush initiated a registry for nationals of 25 countries, all but one of them majority Muslim. The program fueled discrimination and was completely ineffective in countering terrorism, resulting in no known criminal convictions. One former immigration official told the New York Times the agency “got nothing” out of the program.

President Trump’s possible executive action is likely to alienate Muslim-American communities inside the US, which will discourage cooperation with law enforcement in those communities, undermining public safety for all. It would undermine US interests in fighting terrorism at home and abroad. Such policies convey fear instead of courage and will send a message to leaders around the world that such broad, discriminatory, and isolationist actions are acceptable.

January 25, 201711:24 AM EST

Trump Administration Set to Move on Refugee Ban

Media reports indicate that the Trump administration will announce a ban on admission of some or all refugees to the United States on January 25, 2017.

President Trump’s possible executive order to suspend admission of refugees disregards the fact that refugees identified for US resettlement are, by US statute, people for whom the United States has found “a special humanitarian concern,” and who have been thoroughly and extensively vetted and screened. Refugees come from all over the world, from a diverse range of religious and economic backgrounds, but have in common that they are all fleeing persecution. If there are any questions whatsoever concerning a refugee’s background, that person is not admitted. In fact, many refugees who have been admitted to the US, whether Syrian or from elsewhere, are the victims of terrorism and other persecution. At a time when there are more displaced people around the globe than there have been since the end of World War II, a decision by the Trump administration to suspend the US refugee program would not only abandon the US’ leadership role on this issue but also reject the longstanding bipartisan nature of support for this initiative and undermine commitments to important allies, such as Jordan and Kenya, who host hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Trump Puts Women at Risk by Reviving "Gag Rule"

Trump signed an executive order reviving a policy that prohibits United States international aid to groups which in anyway engage with abortion – providing it, offering counseling, advocating for abortion law reform, or providing referrals – even with non-US funding. Read more here